Subject: Re: Checking in

Turn is coming. I just had a buttload of papers to grade last night and couldn't get to it. I should have it by some point this afternoon.

Subject: The Journey Begins; A Distant Cry

The morning sun rises over the grassland wilds, lending light to the misty grayness that swept in off the plain during the night. Telwyn wakes just before dawn, gasping as he opens his eyes and sits bolt upright. Reaching for his wound, he shook off the dream and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air. He had lived to see the dawn - something he would not take for granted again for some time.

Rising, he quietly dresses before walking toward the stables. The mist has beaten down the smoke in the air, leaving a crisp and fresh morning obscured by the gray. It seems peaceful, Telwyn thinks, trying to ignore the knowlege that beyond the mist lay the burnt ruins of thatch roofs and the broken tower. Feeding the pack animals and calming them, letting them get reacquainted with his sent, he checks on the gear for the expedition one more time before their morning departure.

Confident that everything is in order, he returns to the inn's common room, picking through the myriad bedrolls laid out as a patchwork across the floor. He notices Kayla awake and dressed, going through a regimen of stretches and dexterity exercises. Buchek slept heavily some paces away, though Erk and Holn were stirring already. Glancing around for Elotai, he does not find the elf anywhere inside.

Stepping out the door onto the street, he finds the elf sitting peacefully, carefully sharpening his longsword.

"Did you sleep well, my brother?" Elotai asks Telwyn in elvish, giving the half-elf a strange sense of comfort, though he can't imagine why. He has grown up mostly around humans.

"As well as can be expected." The dreamlike feeling of the arrow piercing his skin is now just a vague memory. "You're up early."

"I completed my four hours of trance. The hours after dawn but before the humans rise is a most peaceful time. The mist is so silent. Aside from the early guards, most of the outpost doesn't wake until the fog has mostly been burned off by the sun."

Elotai watches as Liwanu emerges from the mists covered in blood - its own, or another's he can't tell. Shaking his head, the blood vanishes, leaving only the wolf's normally intense features. Telwyn notices Elotai's gaze focus just beyond him oddly for a moment, and turns to see Liwanu and give him a scratch.

"I should wake Erk," Telwyn says. "We'll want to get moving as soon as possible, to make best use of the daylight."

***

The party assembles at the bridge, with expedition in tow just as the sun begins to break through the grayness surrounding the river. Bermid clasps each of their hands in turn, wishing them good fortune in their quest, and the guards walk them to the opposite side of the river before waving them off.

The day's journey takes them past the guard house Buchek remembers well, and he tells the details of his altercation to some laughs after they are outside of earshot of the morning guard. The barbarian is acutely aware of his freedom in the wilds, and has no wish of returning to the lands of the sunset peoples.

Holn and Buchek lead the expedition through the wilds, staying on what seems to be well worn paths of the plains elk and grassland boar. The grass rises to the waists of the humans, just to Erk's chest, and fully over Kayla's head. Erk follows behind with Telwyn, chatting about what they might expect in the Tall Grass, or even just among the wilds. Elotai also listens intently, asking questions here and there, seeking to know as much as he can about the east, and what might lay there for him. Kayla grows tired of the monotony of the grass quickly and climbs atop one of the mule's backs to play her fiddle.

The time goes quickly, as Holn and Buchek find an easy path to follow, almost as though they weren't looking for it. They trade stories with the group, and Telwyn joins in, speaking of strange times in the wilds, or legends of the Tall Grass. Kayla asks about the giant snakeskin that wrapped around the entire ceiling of the inn's common room, and the three fall silent.

"Stories tell of such beasts, but I have never seen one living. A man of my tribe had a longsword that was said to be a single fang of such a snake." Buchek leaves it at that, and changes the subject. The group is a little more wary of the sea of green/yellow grass swaying in the breeze on all sides.

The night passes well enough, as do the next two days of traveling. The group has found a steady routine of meals and marching that suits them, with Kayla often riding on the mule and playing happy tunes to wile away the time.

During the early afternoon of the third day, Buchek and Telwyn are walking at the fore of the group when they stop suddenly short. The grasses and path are disturbed ahead. They each stoop to examine the ground and the broken grasses, whispering back and forth to one another.

After some time, Telwyn ranges out into the grasses for several minutes before returning to whisper some more with Buchek and address the group:

"We have been seeing some stray tracks here and there along our path, but these are different. The mud was scored deeply by a wagon wheel - so deeply that it appears the wheel had to have been replaced. It happened some time ago, but the deep impression in the dried mud remains."

"I scouted ahead to be sure and found broken wooden wheel spokes in the grass. The metal frame is gone, as are all other steel parts of a wagon wheel."

Buchek continues, "We believe that scavengers came afterward and took these metals. This is a good sign. We are entering the territory of the Kubalcat, who were once allies to my father. It is only another day's journey to the border of the Tall Grass after tonight..."

With these words, a distant screech is heard, almost like a squeal of pain. Liwanu and Fancek Fa's ears both immediately perk up, and Liwanu looks from Telwyn to the grass and back, wanting to investigate.

From the sound, Telwyn's best guess is that the sound came from over the a rise some 200 yards away, possibly further.

[ODM: Please check in with actions.]

Subject: Re: The Journey Begins; A Distant Cry

Buchek freezes for a moment as the screech splits the pollen scented afternoon air. (OOC--Matt, has he ever heard an animal cry like this, or does it sound more like a human sound?)

IC--Dropping into a crouch that brings his eyes just above the top of the waving grasses, Buchek motions to Telwyn, then points from himself to Telwyn to the wolf, and finally nods in the direction of the cry. He strings his bow, knocks an arrow, then swiftly and silently begins moving toward the rise, not looking back to see if Telwyn and Liwanu are following.